Looking at the dashboard of the 2024 4Runner is like peering through a time machine. The auto industry may be circling back to the idea that physical knobs and buttons aren’t necessarily a bad thing when you’re trying to keep drivers’ attention on the road, but the current SUV’s dated infotainment system and clunky switchgear are arguably where the 4Runner is most showing its age.
Luckily, Toyota won’t need to look far to find an example of how to do dashboard design and technology much, much better. In fact, it needs only wander across the dealership floor to the latest Tacoma, Sequoia, or Grand Highlander for some ideas: each has benefitted from Toyota’s latest infotainment system, bigger and crisper touchscreens, and a significant improvement in the look and feel of the physical controls.
Given what we’ve seen in the new 2024 Land Cruiser and Tacoma, a physical shifter seems likely to appear in the new 4Runner too. However, much more ergonomic buttons and knobs for navigating through off-road settings like differential locks and drive modes are equally inevitable, and it’s tough to imagine Toyota ditching a physical climate control panel, too. That’ll almost certainly be combined with features like the much-improved voice control system, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and other niceties leagues ahead of what current 4Runner owners could even dream of.
